Meta Whistleblowers Allege Child Harms, Cover-Up in Past Senate Hearing
Meta Whistleblowers Allege Child Harms, Cover-Up in Past Senate Hearing
In a past high-profile US Senate committee hearing, two former Meta safety researchers, Jason Sattizahn and Cayce Savage, made explosive allegations that the social media giant, parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, actively covered up potential harms to children stemming from its virtual reality (VR) products. The whistleblowers claimed Meta lawyers intervened to shape internal research and demanded the erasure of evidence related to sexual abuse risks on VR platforms.
Meta vehemently denied these allegations, referring to them as “nonsense” and based on “selectively leaked internal documents picked specifically to craft a false narrative.” The company stated it has approved numerous studies on youth safety and well-being within its Reality Labs division.
During their testimony, Ms. Savage specifically alleged that she identified coordinated pedophile rings using the game platform Roblox on Meta’s VR headsets, where children were reportedly paid in Robux (convertible to real money) to strip. Despite flagging this to Meta, Roblox reportedly remained available in the Meta VR app store. Roblox, in response, strongly disagreed with the allegations, calling them “ill-informed and outdated information,” and emphasized its robust 24/7 moderation and swift response to abuse reports.
The hearing also highlighted concerns about the usability of parental controls. Florida Republican Senator Ashley Moody, a prominent legal figure who had sued Meta over child harm, expressed difficulty navigating these controls, a sentiment echoed by the former researchers.
These claims from Sattizahn, who worked at Meta from 2018 to 2024, and Savage, who led youth user experience research for Meta’s VR platforms, echo previous allegations made by other former Meta employees. Notably, in 2021, former product manager Frances Haugen claimed Instagram negatively impacted teenage mental health, with Meta prioritizing profit over safety – claims that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg denied at the time.
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